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5 Tips For Creating Effective Lesson Plans

As we've said in other articles in this series, creating an effective lesson
plan is actually a pretty easy and straight forward process. It doesn't
require you to be a rocket scientist (unless you are teaching a class on
rocket science, in which case it could be incredibly helpful), however it
does require you to think about what you want to accomplish and to plan
accordingly. Therefore, here are five tips you need to know in order to
create effective lesson plans:

Think the lesson through in your head. Creating an effective lesson
plan means exactly that - planning. Take the time to think about what it
is you want to accomplish with this lesson plan and what your students should
know in the end. Some teachers actually include this as part of their lesson
plan and call it "result." This is not really a necessary part of a lesson
plan unless you hope to offer your plans to others. That's because you (hopefully)
know the result you want before you start. However, writing it out can sometimes
be helpful if you want to organize your thoughts.

Plan for distraction. We've said this before, but it bears repeating.
Think about questions that may come up during class and be prepared to answer
them. If you are discussing the chemical reaction that happens when Mentos
and Diet Coke are mixed, be prepared for someone to ask if other common
household items could do the same thing. Be prepared also to warn your students
why certain things should not attempted at home (unless you enjoy irate
parents calling to scream at you after their Persian rug was ruined by little
Johnny running an experiment in the living room).

Keep your eye on the clock. Time yourself realistically so you know
how long each part of your lesson plan is likely to take. Then add about
2-3 minutes to each section. This is simple logic. You are bound to have
things happen to distract you in class, whether it's the kid who shows up
late and needs to make a show out of it, or the kid who is brainy and asks
more complex questions than the rest of the class is likely to understand
or care about. At the same time. . .

Have three different end points built into your lesson. While it's
important to make sure your material will not overrun the clock, it's equally
important not to end too early. The easiest way to do this is to have several
different end points. This way, you can keep an eye on the clock as you're
actually teaching and you'll be able to stop when you need to or continue
on if need be.

Plan effective homework. We touched on this before. Homework should
not be pure rote memorization. Instead, it should stretch the child's imagination
and make them really think about the lesson. Going back to the Mentos and
Diet Coke, have them look on the Internet to learn about other chemical
reactions that may happen when common household items are mixed. This will
get them excited and re-enforce what they learned in school.